Elo Hell
by Syclone903
Summary: In an effort to reinforce her transient love, Yumiko Miura enlists the services of a reluctant Hikigaya Hachiman. Watch as she struggles to succeed amidst the highs and lows, the triumphs and the woes, the tilts and the throws of... esports? Or at least make it through the front door.


It was a quiet day like any other at the service club room. The birds weren't singing, the sun couldn't properly get in at this angle, and I was too invested in the latest volume of Watamote to give any potential mind-readers a pseudo-intellectual opening monologue. For once in my life, all was right with the world.

Then the door to the room slid open.

I looked up from my manga.

I saw the person who walked through the door.

I identified said person.

The person exchanged an airheaded greeting with my equally airheaded clubmate.

I sighed imperceptibly.

The person perceived that sigh because of course they did. Here it comes…

"Hah?!" she began, turning to - or should I say _on_ \- me, "You got a problem? Am I suddenly not allowed in here or something?"

I recoiled slightly at the open hostility. "That wasn't directed at you."

The person wasn't having it though, "Oh, so you just _happened _to groan the moment you saw my face."

I turned away from her dark glare. Wow, who pissed in _their_ cereal today? "I'm a human. We sometimes breathe louder than normal."

From the opposite end of the table, Yukinoshita cleared her throat, setting the book she had been reading on the table.

"Unsubstantiated claims of humanity aside" Oi! "Please ignore his rudeness." This bitch… "Did you need something in particular?"

The person mercifully spared my life and sat down the designated requester's chair.

Yumiko Miura sighed before looking at us, mainly Yuigahama, and uttered the magic words.

"I want to make a request."

* * *

"So. Let's put this all into perspective." Yukinoshita declared 5 minutes later.

"You con-" she cleared her throat again, "You confessed your feelings to Hayama-kun."

Miura's face flushed but she nodded anyways. Yuigamaha had moved to her side of the table to provide moral support.

"But were turned down, reason being that you were aiming to attend universities that were too far away and he didn't have faith in a long distance relationship."

Huh. I was frankly surprised he even gave her a reason. Though I suppose that wasn't very fair of me; Hayama held Miura closer than most.

The distraught blonde nodded again and spoke up, "I've thought through this a thousand times." Doubtful, "and I still don't know what to do."

Yuigahama rubbed her back as her breathing began to hitch and tears welled up in her eyes, "I- I love him and I-I just don't know what to do." She looked at Yuigahama and Yukinoshita imploringly, "I *sniff* don't know how you guys seem to do it but, you always manage to help with things like this and *sniff* I'm at my wits end, and you're the last people I-"

Yuigahama did some sort of hug-grab maneuver and pulled Miura into an embrace, "Hey hey hey. Shhh. It's alright."

The sweet nothings continued till eventually, she calmed down somewhat, and they just sat there, with Yuigamaha stroking Miura's hair.

Sweating at the atmosphere a bit, I decided to intervene before our clubroom became the setting for the next season of The Bold and the Beautiful. I too, cleared my throat.

"So I guess I'll be the one to ask: why not just attend his university? It's Hayama so it's not like it's gonna be a bad one right?"

Miura separated from Yuigahama and rubbed her shoulder, "No, actually it's the opposite. He's even only looking to get in with a soccer scholarship."

I raised an eyebrow; a university that exceeded even his academic abilities? Must be a pretty highly rated institution. Good for him.

I felt the corner of my lip rise. Wasn't better than mine though, not by a longshot.

"It's Toudai."

"What?!" I exclaimed, flinching and almost dropping my manga, "Please tell me that you're talking about some other Toudai, not Toudai Toudai."

My clubmates stared in surprise while Miura gave me an annoyed look, "What other Toudai do you think I mean? Tokyo University, obviously."

"Oh." I mumbled, feeling my heart sink. My moment of superiority, dashed against the rocks. I had been looking forward to it for months too. Damn it!

"I see the issue." Yukinoshita interjected, "Even I would be hard pressed to get into Toudai." she turned to me, "Though Hikigaya-kun, I'd thank you to keep your outbursts of envy to a minimum. If you'd forgive the tautological expression, it's rather unsightly of you."

That was 3 insults at once I counted. When did she evolve? Should I be calling her Korinoshita now?

"Toto-?" Yuigahama tried quietly, "Totolo-"

"Who's envious?" I replied, "I had it in my mind that I just had to complete high school and I'd finally be rid of his presence."

I let out a large sigh, before noticing nobody replied. Glancing back up at them, I saw that they were all staring at me with wide eyes.

"Hikio you… you-" Miura began.

"You make it sound like you're going to Toudai?" Yuigahama, you can't just convert any sentence into a question by lilting your speech.

Nevertheless, I answered, "That's because I am."

More silence, before Yukinoshita let out the breath she had been holding, "My apologies. For reasons unbeknownst to me, my mind instantly thought you meant as a student." She lent me an almost, _almost_ genuine looking smile. "Congratulations Hikigaya-kun. What position did you manage to secure? Janitorial? Transportation?"

My eye began to twitch. "I'm not working there Yukinoshita, though I know you know that. I'm attending Tokyo University as a bonafide university student."

"Ehhh?!" "Haaah?!" Twin cries of surprise spewed forth at me, and try as I might, I couldn't keep the smirk of triumph from my face. I had kept this under wraps for a while, and despite recent setbacks, it felt great to finally let the cat out the bag. Though I'd hoped for a better opportunity than this.

"Bullshit!" Miura cried, "I _know_ my grades are better than yours Hikio. There's no way in hell you could get into Toudai!"

"I've looked at their past exam papers before Hikki! I know you're smart but even I'm not going just believe you passed those!"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," I sneered at them. I turned to Yukinoshita to see what she would say, but she leaned away from the table, a look of abject horror on her face.

"It seems that…" she swallowed, and leaned even farther away, "Hiratsuka-sensei was mistaken. Though I must say I'm surprised that you actually put in enough effort to find the Dean's weakness."

"Can you stop making it sound like I'm a criminal?" I deadpanned. Deciding enough was enough, I began my explanation, "For your information, like Hayama, I didn't get in via academic achievement. I've more or less obtained a scholarship."

"I wasn't aware Toudai offered a Pity Scholarship program."

I tried to stopped my teeth from grinding together, "They don't."

"Then how the heck did you get in?" Miura asked.

I waved a hand. "Well, I'm not technically in yet, but it's more or less a guarantee."

I leaned back and raised a finger:

"Esports."

I scanned the room. First, Yuigahama, who of course had no idea what that was (no surprise there) to Miura, who was much the same and finally, to Yukinoshita. I could practically see the 'Error 404: Yukipedia entry not found' above her head. Excellent.

It wasn't often I got to wax factual to Yukinoshita, and I relished the opportunity. This was going to be good.

"Esports is-"

"Esports." she interrupted, staring at her desk with her hand on her chin, "The 'e' suffix in front of 'sports' denotes that it is an activity of a competitive nature performed on a computer or over the internet, likely exclusively. Given that you're partaking in it with any sort of success, it probably contains some sort of hedonistic quality that renders discipline and study irrelevant or of negligible importance."

She flipped her hair behind her ear, and gave me a small smile, "Competitive gaming, perhaps?"

Damn you. "Apologise to me and every pro player in the world, especially me, right now."

"Hikki," said Yuigahama, "I didn't know you were a... pro gamer?"

I shifted in my seat, "Well, now you do. It's actually a relatively new development all things considered." I waved my hand. "At any rate, for various reasons, Japan's esports industry has been practically nonexistent for the longest time. Recently, the government has been making a push to change this, and as a result, a bunch of universities have incorporated esports teams and scholarships to go with them."

I took a breath, "I'm actually one of the top players in Japan in my esport of choice right now. I've even met Toudai's Director of Esports and had an unofficial tryout. As expected, he was very impressed and said as soon as I was of age, I'd be signed onto the varsity roster and granted a full-ride scholarship, given I maintain my level of play. It's practically a done deal."

Apprehensively, I glanced at my schoolmates again, and saw it was starting to sink in that I wasn't lying. Miura especially had stars in her eyes.

"So what, it's just videogames?" she asked in the hopeful, sugar-filled tone I'd ever heard from her, "I can do that!"

"Ha!" I scoffed, "Yeah. Sure. Okay. Good luck with that."

"Hikki!" Yuigahama chided, "Don't put her down like that, I mean, it _is _playing games-"

"Don't _Hikki_ me." I cut her off, my voice climbing slightly, "Despite what you may all think, it actually takes a lot of hard work and dedication to succeed in competitive gaming, in competitive _anything_ I'd imagine. There are millions of people who've _each_ spent thousands of hours and still haven't gotten to where I am."

Another hush settled over the service club room, but I didn't feel the least bit bad about it. I knew where this conversation was heading. I'd seen this double standard applied hundreds of times before. Indeed, I too had invested thousands of hours into my craft. It was what I loved to do, and one of the few things that got me… testy if disparaged.

"We... apologize Hikigaya-kun" Yukinoshita said, in a moment of sobriety, "We didn't mean to belittle your accomplishments."

"Y-yeah Hikki. I don't really know much about games, but isn't being the top in the country at something really amazing?" cheered Yuigahama, pumping her fist slightly.

In contrast, light in Miura's eyes dimmed, "Thousands of hours…" her head began to drop, "I'm not really good enough at anything to get a Toudai scholarship. So it really is impossible… huh."

I scratched the back of my hair. Okay, _now_ I felt a little bad. It just occurred to me that all I'd done now was show her I had what she desperately wanted, dangle hope in front of her face, and then yank it out of reach. I felt compelled to give her at least _some_ good news.

"W-well" I started, "Thousands of hours was very much on the higher end. Also, Japan's esports scene is still very much in its infancy, there really aren't that many good players, or players in general."

Miura head whipped back up at me, "So you're saying there's a chance?"

I grimaced, "Ehhhhhh~"

Miura set her palms on the table and moved closer, causing me to turn away, "Please Hikio! Hayato and I… Hayato… he keeps himself at arms reach from other people, and it hurts him, I know it does. He's done more for me than he will ever know, and I want to be there for him when he needs me. Even if he doesn't return my feelings." she stopped for a moment, and in an awe-inspiring moment, bowed her head so deeply that it practically touched the table.

"If there's any way you can help me get into Toudai, I beg you! Please help me!"

My jaw fell slack.

This was Miura Yumiko, effectively the queen of our school, begging me of all people.

I glanced at Yuigahama, whose face looked just as anguished and pleading as Miura's, and Yukinoshita, who offered something that might have been a shrug. Finally, I turned back to Miura, whose head was still facing downwards. I didn't say anything for a while, and she eventually looked back up.

I mulled it over in my head.

After half a minute of meditation, I asked her, "Miura. Be honest with me and yourself; are you a fast learner?"

Yuigahama answered on her behalf, "She definitely is! Yumiko started playing tennis and won the Junior High Championship in the same year! She peeled a potato on her first try and didn't cut herself! Not even once!"

Miura, still kind of up in my face, nodded.

I accepted the information and began to run the calculations, drawing data from my own career and that of others, and just general experience. Time passed as I considered probabilities, contingencies and potential setbacks.

At last, I came to a conclusion, "As it stands, we're in our second year of high school. If you practice for at least 3 hours every day, and more during the holidays, being coached for most of it… to be able to make tryouts after our third year..."

I folded my arms and sighed, "Depending on your aptitude, then yeah, it's in the realm of possibility I'd say."

Yuigahama began to cheer as Miura looked like I had given her a bottle of water in the Sahara.

"Thanks Hikio," she said. "I always knew you were a nice person."

Yeah right, "All I did was give you the quotations," I replied, cracking my neck, "It's up to you to cash the check, so to speak." I raised an eyebrow and leaned in, "But Miura, take a second and consider what this entails; you'll have practically no time to go out with friends, you'll essentially become an o-"

"I don't care what it takes." she cut in, "I'll tell them I'm studying, or something. I'm… I'm sure they'll understand. I _have_ to do this."

I shrugged then backed off, picking up my novel from the ground; if she was that dead set on it, who was I to argue? Though, it was one thing to say you'll abandon your riajuu way of life just like that, it was a whole other thing to follow through. I gave her a week, tops.

* * *

As I walked towards the school gate, I thought I heard a voice calling out to me, but upon closer inspection, it was actually calling a guy named 'Hikio'. Poor bastard, what a horrible name. He must be one ugly SOB for his parents to name him that. Not my problem though; I ignored it and kept walking.

For a few more seconds till I determined making a point wasn't worth the no doubt annoying consequences. I turned around to see Miura approaching me at a brisk pace.

She practically scowled at me, "Why did it take you so long to turn around?"

Right off the bat huh, "I was lost in thought. Did you need something?"

Now an interesting thing happened: her facial expression switched from its current frown to a look of mild perplexion, as if she just realised that her usual attitude towards me was not appropriate for her reason for stopping me. It eventually settled on neutral, which was, as it happens, very much an improvement!

She pulled out her phone, "Let's exchange contacts."

Instantly, 70% of my cognitive ability abandoned me, and for a moment I gaped at her, baffled, like the dead fish I've so often been accused of being. An admittedly attractive and popular girl, asking for my number unprovoked? A couple of years ago, and I would've been a dead man.

But this wasn't my first rodeo. I was a warrior, a hardened veteran. Battle scarred and now resistant to every nice girl-ism ever documented. I wouldn't be defeated too easily.

Even now, my faculties had mended to about 60%, which was satisfactory for movement, if not speech. I kept my mouth shut and reaching into my pocket, performed the unfamiliar ritual.

After it was done, I recovered my smartphone. She'd saved it under 'Yumiko'. Ugh. Better remember to change that later, just a misunderstanding waiting to happen.

I stuffed the device back into my pocket and looked back at her, waiting for the explanation.

She finished putting away her phone and looked back at me.

"So when do we start?"

I blinked, "Huh? Start what?"

She put a hand on her hip, "You said something about coaching earlier didn't you? Actually, what umm… console(?) do you use? I might not have it."

My eyes expanded in amazement. "_I beg your pardon?_"

She raised an eyebrow. "What?"

My eyelid twitched. "Who the hell said I'm coaching you?!"

Her eyes narrowed and fire returned, "Hah?! You did! Didn't you say you'd help me? Isn't that your job?!"

This woman… "I didn't and it isn't. I meant find one."

"And where the heck am I supposed to do that?! I didn't even know you could _get_ coached to play games till today!"

I waved a hand flippantly, growing more irritated with her audacity by the second, "Online, of course. There are lots of coaches available for whatever esport you want to engage in. Hell, a few of them even speak Japanese."

She blinked, giving it some thought, "How much does that cost?"

"If you do some bargaining, around 3000 yen."

Her eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets, "Per session?!"

"Per hour."

She balled her hands into fists, "I do _not_ have that kind of money!"

"Well, then I guess you won't…" I trailed, actually considering the full implications of what I was about to say.

But she had already turned her head away, folding her arms in agitation, and I could practically see the despairing thoughts beginning to form in her head.

"So…" she muttered, "so what am I supposed to do then?"

Eurgh. I was up to my neck in guilt. It didn't help that I just recalled that the precursor to this esports discussion was that she'd just gotten rejected by someone she'd pined after for God knows how long. After the club meeting, she'd probably felt so relieved and driven to make the whole Toudai thing work. And I just did it again; pulled the rug out from under her. Somehow, I felt somewhat responsible for her current state.

I looked at her olive, downcast eyes. I'd never felt strongly enough about a romantic interest that I could say I loved them, sure as hell not enough to do something like what Miura was attempting. But I did know what the familial version of that love felt like.

I didn't know nearly enough about Hayama to understand why she thought it was so necessary for her to "be there" for him (whatever that meant), but if I swapped him and Miura with myself and Komachi…

I groaned loudly and dragged my hand slowly across my face.

'_Even if I do this,_' I thought, 't_There's no way she'll stick with it. She's effectively asking to become an otaku. Yumiko Miura. This is going to end up being a giant waste of time._'

My eyes widened; suddenly, it clicked.

Of _course_ she won't stick with it. Which meant that all I had to do was go along this farce till she eventually got fed up, then that would be proof of her lack of resolve, which makes her eventual failure to get into Toudai one-hundred percent her fault, thereby freeing me of all guilt and responsibility. The sooner the better honestly.

I let out a long, deep breath.

I really hope I didn't just get Isshiki'd.

"Miura."

"Hm?" she answered half-heartedly, still despondently staring somewhere into space.

I sighed again. "If we're going to do this, there have to be some ground rules…"

He gaze instantly shot upwards. "So you mean…"

Reluctantly, I nodded. "Yeah. I'll be your coach."

* * *

I heard the sound of the front door opening. Then the sound of someone taking their shoes off. Then light footsteps.

Komachi walked through the living room entrance, sighing and tossing her bag on the couch, "I'm back, onii-chan. You wouldn't believe- GEH!"

What was the cause of her shock? Probably the five thousand yen worth of offerings I had spread out on the coffee table. Sweets, snacks, cell phone straps: everything a little sister could want.

From my place on the single seater, I gave a flourish, "Welcome, my dear sister. The apple of my brotherly eye. The cutest, smartest-"

"Onii-chan, what have you done?" she intoned, not even bothering to play along this time.

I reeled back, scandalised, "I'm hurt. _Wounded_ that you would assume-"

She plopped herself and her bag down on the sofa, groaning, "I've had a really rough day, Onii-chan. As much as I love to hear the sound of your praise, can we skip the pretenses this one time?"

Huh. "Put a pin on that; I want to hear about that later. Pour your heart out to your understanding Onii-chan." I gestured toward the goodies on the table, "But first, why not partake of the gifts I've presented to you."

She shook her head, "Not until you tell me what it's payment for."

I sighed deeply. Komachi wasn't being very cute this evening. No matter. Right then, onto business.

I steepled my fingers in front of my face, "For the foreseeable future, I'm going to have… a regular visitor to our household. Seeing as they will be arriving soon after school lets out and leaving before our dear parents return for the day, I need your cooperation in making it so that they don't find out."

Bewilderment covered Komachi's face, which then transformed to severe shock, "It's a girl?"

I narrowed my eyes. "It's not what you're thinking."

"Of course it is!" she gesticulated wildly. "Forgetting the fact that for some reason, you've only been able to befriend girls recently," Not true. They aren't really my- "nobody would care that you had a guy friend over. That's normal." She put her hands on her head worriedly, "Onii-chan, I've tried your best as your cute little sister to encourage and push you in the right direction, b-but to make this much of a jump! I don't know how to feel about this!"

I clicked my tongue. "As I said, it's not what you're thinking."

She looked back up at me. "Oh really, then why is this girl visiting? What are you going to be doing exactly?"

I told her the truth, "Playing video games in my room."

She sneered imperiously at my answer, "'Playing video games in your room'.' Sure. Okay."

I doubled down, "I'm serious."

I then began to explain the situation to her…

* * *

Komachi once again placed her head in her hands, this time in sadness.

"Onii-chan~" she sobbed. "No~!"

I grew a bit concerned. Did she still not believe me. "What?"

She snapped her head to me. "3 hours every day?! Even more on the holidays?! For a girl you barely even talk to?!"

I began to sweat. When she put it like that… "It's only going to be for a few days or weeks at the most. Just till she quits. I already told you what she's giving up to do this."

She stared at me like I had grown a second head. "What she's giving- Onii-chan! How could you possibly be so _stupid_?!"

Huh?

"Huh?" I asked intelligently.

She spread her arms in outrage, "Love?! Really Onii-chan?! Forget about that Hayama guy or whatever, you just offered her a free ride into _Tokyo freaking University!_"

I blinked.

I stared at Komachi's face.

I blinked again.

"Oh."

"'_Oh_,'" she mimicked harshly. She exhaled heavily, her voice even older sounding and deeper than mine, "Well, you've made your bed, and I know you won't go back on it so…"

She leaned further into the couch, "Why are you doing it here again?"

Trying to keep Miura's motives out of my mind, I reached for a pack of Pocky, "She doesn't have a-"

Komachi moved forward and slapped my hand, "Don't touch that Onii-chan. If I'm doing this I'm getting my money's worth!"

I retracted my stinging hand, "She doesn't have a PC good enough. You aren't allowed to install games on the computers in the public library, and I am _not_ going out of my way every day to go to and _pay for_ an internet cafe when I already have 2 decent PCs in my room."

Komachi selfishly and uncutely ate the same Pocky I had wanted, "So why not just give her one of them and coach her over the internet?"

I drummed my fingers on the armrest, "First of all, they're both desktops so that would be a huge pain in the ass. Second, they both have terabytes worth of important documents-"

"You mean games."

"-_important documents_ on them. Third, one of them is Dad's old one so I _can't_ give it away, and I sure as hell am not giving away my baby. Last but not least, good coaching is best done in person. I've done my fair share of online coaching - which paid for those sweets you aren't sharing by the way - and it has a lot of limitations, and she's cutting it close enough as it is with just a year and a half."

"Heh~." Komachi drawled, chewing the chocolate stick, "You've really thought about this huh? If I didn't know any better, I'd think you just wanted to have a pretty girl in your room all day."

I just stared at her, "Even discounting the entire reason this is taking place, I have neither the inclination nor the delusion of pursuing that line of thinking. This is simply the best and most convenient way forward."

She didn't seem entirely convinced, "Okay, I guess. Frankly, it's a miracle she even agreed to this. Miura-san is popular enough to be known even in _my_ school. I'm surprised she would risk being seen anywhere near your house."

Insulting as that sounded, it was a fair observation, "Well, I didn't give her much of a choice. Despite what you may think, I am very much in charge of this whole operation. I've explained in no uncertain terms that if she doesn't like it, she shouldn't let the door hit her on the way out."

As if in defiance of my words, the doorbell rang, and we simultaneously looked towards the sound.

"Well, that's her," I said, pulling myself off my seat.

I walked to the door, and involuntarily checked my appearance - t-shirt and cargo shorts - before deciding that this was my own house and I didn't care what I looked like. I grabbed the handle and opened.

There she was, in all her Sporty Casual glory; denim shorts and a frilled shirt layered over a tank top. A little dressy for gaming if you asked me but whatever.

"Welcome. Come on in," I offered unceremoniously.

"Mhm," she grunted, and began taking off her shoes. "Good thing I wore flats, your house is pretty damn far, Hikio."

I shrugged, "I thought you'd appreciate the exercise."

Girls her age are always going on about losing weight after all. Burning calories on the way to a place you'll be visiting regularly would be a plus I'd imagine.

For some reason though she whirled to me, apparently livid, "Hah?! What did you just-"

"Hello!" greeted Komachi, bursting in like a bat out of hell, "Welcome to our house! Onii-chan" she then pinched me hard in the back where Miura couldn't see, "has already told me about the situation. Umaibo?" she asked, offering her a stick of the tasty snack.

She was offering her one? Was sort of betrayal was this?!

The blonde's incensed glare dissipated as she looked at my sister, giving her a small smile "Komachi-chan, right?" She accepted the treat, "Thanks." tTe glare returned, "Though maybe I shouldn't, since _some_ people think I should be watching my weight."

Oh.

"That isn't what I mean-" I attempted.

"Where's your room Hikio? Let's not waste any time," Miura interrupted, walking past me. I glanced briefly at Komachi - who just shook her head at me in disappointment - before following her up the stairs.

* * *

I opened the door to my room, without hesitation. And why not? I frankly had nothing to be ashamed of. My room was clean, it smelled alright, and I didn't keep anything… incriminating in either physical form or on my computers. That all went in my phone. I'd already set up both PCs along my room wall a reasonable distance apart, complete with comfortable chairs and warm beverages.

Indeed, I could show this room to anybody without losing face. But of course, some people can find fault in anything, and Miura's deriding sneer was already aimed at my Battlestation [1] of all things.

[1] A battlestation is a desktop computer setup, containing the computer itself and any peripherals connected or adjacent to it.

"Don't look at it like that," I said, moving past her to sit on my office chair. I rotated it to face her, "This is the world you have chosen to embrace." I twisted my seat to face my monitor, turned the PC on and gestured for her to take the other chair.

Hesitantly enough to almost hurt my feelings, she sat down. Thankfully, she knew how to turn a desktop on. I cracked open the can of MAX Coffee on my desk, typed in my password faster than she would have ever been able to memorise if she was that way inclined, and drank.

"I've set up a new user for you already." I exhaled from after swallowing a delicious mouthful, "You can set a password if you want later." I opened up the launcher.

Miura, after opening her user profile, fiddled with the mouse a bit and looked over to my screen.

"We're starting right now?" she asked., "Don't I have to buy the game first?"

"Already covered that for you." I took another sip, watching the game update. "Actually, go ahead and create a account. I'll gift you the copy."

She seemed taken aback, before muttering what might have been a thank you and getting to work. We settled into a somewhat comfortable silence. I think anyway. _I_ was more or less comfortable given my close and isolated proximity to Yumiko Miura of all people, which made some sort of sense. If a loner's home can be called their nation, then my room was my castle. My place of power. Just sitting in this chair gave me a feeling of control. Nobody had more experience and knowledge of this place than I did. Maybe this whole thing wouldn't be so bad after all.

"By the way," she spoke up, still making her account, which she didn't need help with. So far so good, "I'm not sure why I haven't asked this yet but, what game are we even playing?"

I guzzled down the last of my coffee.

"The crowning jewel of the Blizzard Entertainment library."

I tossed the can into the air behind me.

"The often misunderstood masterpiece."

I heard the swish of the can landing in the trash bin.

"The greatest multiplayer FPS ever made don't 'at' me."

We watched the update bar fill up, then which I proceeded to click the big blue PLAY button.

"_Overwatch._"

* * *

To whomever may be reading this, lets just make a couple of things clear: Yes, I know this doesn't make a lot of sense, and yes I know scholarships don't work like that. To be frank with you, you're going to need to suspend your disbelief for a lot more than that to get through this story.

To those who may have read my previous fic and wondering what happened to that: nothing, honestly. Inspiration is fleeting. I wrote this chapter you see here in a couple of days, and it's more than I've written for Dying to Live in a couple of months. Hopefully, having done this will get some of the creative juices flowing and I can get the new chapter out of that one relatively soon. You know me. Lol.

Thanks to Brietard for Beta'ing this chapter and teaching me a couple of things about grammar in the process. Hats off to you buddy.


End file.
